Rangers applaud passing of charitable raffle amendment

The Texas Rangers tipped their caps to voters this morning for passing Proposition 4 in Tuesday’s state election.

Proposition 4, which passed with nearly 70 percent of the vote, allows professional sports teams’ charitable foundations to operate charitable raffles.

Before, only nonprofit organizations were able to hold raffles since a proposition was passed in 1989.

“The Texas Rangers want to thank all of our fans who helped pass Proposition 4 in Tuesday’s statewide election,” the club said in a release. “We are gratified and honored by the support. We plan to begin work immediately on the details of our charitable raffle for the 2016 season at Globe Life Park in Arlington.”

State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, filed the amendment at the request of the Rangers.

There are 10 major professional sports teams in Texas, including the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Houston Astros and three NBA franchises.

This measure allows those teams to hold charitable raffles at home games with specific rules, including:

▪ Fans must be at least 18 years old to purchase raffle tickets

▪ 50 percent or less of raffle proceeds can be awarded to the raffle winner

▪ 40 percent or more must be donated to charity

▪ 10 percent or less can be used for raffle operating expenses

Charitable foundations associated with the professional teams have to existed at least three years prior to conducting a raffle.

“The funds raised by the charitable raffle will allow the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation to increase its scope and resources in its mission to improving the lives of children in need within our community,” the Rangers’ release stated. “We are thrilled that we will be able to further our efforts in the areas of youth in crisis, youth health initiatives, youth baseball programs, and youth education. Thank you so much.”

The Rangers expect to have “50/50” charitable raffles during each home game in 2016. Details will be released soon.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Rangers applaud passing of charitable raffle amendment."